Loss of Coastal Wetlands

Over the past 150 years, California lost over 90% of its coastal wetlands to development for human use. With the loss of these salt, brackish and fresh water wetlands went unique habitats that species like Coho and Chinook salmon, the tidewater goby and countless crustaceans and amphibians need to survive.

Protect & Restore
To protect and
restore coastal wetland habitats the Arcata Baylands Restoration and
Enhancement Project acquired 217 acres along North Humboldt Bay. The
City project restored and enhanced wetland, riparian and stream habitat
on 127 of those acres. The project area sits adjacent or nearby Humboldt
Bay National Wildlife Refuge lands, the Arcata Marsh and Wildlife
Sanctuary, the Mad River Slough Wildlife Area and Jacoby Creek Land
Trust holdings, making a continuous, protected habitat area of over
1,300 acres.

Enhancing Channels
Project workers dug out and enhanced some of Jacoby Creek's old
Baylands Under Construction network of channels that existed between
Highway 101 and Old Arcata Road before the creek was diked off from the
surrounding fields and North Humboldt Bay. These channels will now flood
again and join during winter rains, providing important habitat in
which juvenile salmon can eat and grow until they were big enough to
enter the ocean. The project included installation of a tidal gate that
prevents flooding of the adjacent fields while at that same time
restoring tidal activity to existing and new channels. Workers also dug
out a 3-acre area to create additional seasonal freshwater wetland
habitat in the winter. The project area is already attracting migratory
birds like Aleutian cackling geese as well as ducks and shorebirds. The
Baylands Project allows cattle grazing to provide short grass habitat
for geese to help reduce the demand from geese on private ranching lands
nearby.

Partnership & Participation
The Arcata Baylands Project is the result of over 10 years of work and
participation in over 13 grant cycles with funding from the Wildlife
Conservation Board, California Department of Fish and Game, the Natural
Resource Conservation Service, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Partners
for Fish and Wildlife, California Coastal, Conservancy, California
Department of Water Resources, Pacific States Marine Fisheries
Commission, National Fish and Wildlife Foundation, U.S. Fish and
Wildlife Service, the Redwood Region Audubon Society and the Arcata
Co-op Foundation. To complete the work on this property the City has
partnered with the California Department of Fish and Game, U.S. Fish and
Wildlife Service, Redwood Community Action Agency, Jacoby Creek Land
Trust, Humboldt Bay National Wildlife Refuge, Humboldt Fish Action
Council, Jacoby Creek School, and community volunteers. Funding for the
most recent work came from a National Coastal Wetlands grant of
$921,000, a California Coastal Conservancy grant of $70,000, and an
Arcata Fish and Wildlife Coastal Program grant of $30,000.